How Gregory Aziz Rebuilt National Steel Car Into A Premier Railcar Firm

Gregory J Aziz is a Canadian businessman who attended Ridley College as a youth and graduated from the University of Western Ontario. Armed with his bachelor’s degree in economics he started working in 1971 at a wholesale food business his family owned. This company would purchase food from Central America, South America, and Europe and then supply it to their customers across the United States and the eastern half of Canada.

After 16 years Greg James Aziz decided to start investing in businesses. He established National Industries Inc. and became its chief executive officer. While researching manufacturing firms to invest his money in he learned of a Canadian railcar company named National Steel Car. This company had been created in 1912 and after decades of success it was bought by Dofasco. Dofasco was a rather poor steward of this company and let it languish, losing customers and shedding employees.

James Aziz saw something in National Steel Car that he really liked. He was sure that he could restore this manufacturing brand and build it back into one of North America’s leading railroad car manufacturers. He bought this company in 1994 and installed himself as the new CEO. After moving to Hamilton, Ontario, where this company is headquartered, he set about rebuilding its manufacturing capacity and lining up customer contracts.

Within six years James Aziz had modernized the facility in which National Steel Car builds its railcars. He also invested in its capacity to design railcars so that they could supply many types of cars such as boxcars, flat cars, gondola car, hopper cars, tank cars, and more. He boosted employment from 500 people to 3,500 people during this time frame. By the time this six years was completed National Steel Car could produce 12,500 railcars a year while in 1994 they were only sending out 3,500 of them. Go Here to learn more.

Since 2000 Greg Aziz hasn’t been resting on past achievements. He continues to keep the manufacturing facility updated with the latest technology. Today his firm employs 2,000 team members who take pride in the railcars they design and build. He says that the culture he has built at this company is one with a sense of purpose. It moves forward while honoring its past. He maintains a firm focus on providing excellence and quality to his customers stretched across Canada and the US. His company is now once again a leader in the North American railcar industry.